


Closed Heart is a Hurting Heart

by Lord_of_Spirits_and_Bazongas



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-24 17:32:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17105027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lord_of_Spirits_and_Bazongas/pseuds/Lord_of_Spirits_and_Bazongas
Summary: Mikleo had never been one to talk about his feelings or doubts openly, but now that Sorey is gone, he’s hesitant to find a new outlet for his feelings.





	Closed Heart is a Hurting Heart

Mikleo had always been the type who seemed to prefer more quiet, isolated ways of tackling his issues. Whenever something was bothering him, he preferred to tackle his issues simply on his own if possible, only really relying on others if it was necessary.  
  
Or how it was in Sorey’s case, when he could tell that something was bothering him.  
  
Having been raised together, the two of them had formed a bond that was mixture of childhood best friends and that of siblings, but both of them kinda that their relationship did go further than that. At times neither of them really wanted to say it out loud, but everything from the way they talked to one another to the way they looked after each other indicated that what they felt for each other was more than the boundaries of brotherhood would indicate.  
  
Which was why it was now so hard for Mikleo to really focus as he didn’t have Sorey there with him.  
  
It was hard to tell exactly how long it had been since the fight with Heldalf had escalated and Sorey had disappeared. Where everyone else seemed to have moved on or at least pretended to have, Mikleo never wavered. Ever since the two had been able to speak, they had been able to read each other’s minds. It had even been a running joke in the village that the two of them were mentally connected, as they could seemingly so easily tell, be it what the other person was thinking or where they were at any given moment.  
  
Now though, Mikleo felt isolated again, without that firm, warm hand on his shoulder, only for him to realize there was one there, expect this one wasn’t so much a firm, but rather a soft one. On terms of the warmth though, it was even more than Sorey’s.  
  
“You seem to be pretty deep in your thoughts, Mikleo,” So spaced out and deep his thoughts had Mikleo been that he hadn’t realized that Lailah had most likely been observing him for quite some time. “I hope that I’m not interrupting anything important.”  
  
Mikleo let out a soft and quiet laugh. Shaking his head, he put the Celestial Record besides him before tilting his head to look at the familiar figure sitting now right next to him. “No, not really. I was just… thinking.”  
  
“You have always been the quiet, thoughtful type,” Lailah hummed softly, idly kicking the air with her heeled feet. “That much I observed during our journey together and from what Sorey told me about you.”  
  
“I hope you only heard good things about me,” Mikleo replied.  
  
“I don’t think Sorey is even capable of saying anything bad about you,” Lailah hummed happily. “He did tell me quite a bit of how you two grew together and what he felt it was like to have someone like you be there with and for him.”  
  
Mikleo didn’t say anything initially, as he simply gazed at the ground beneath his feet before turning to look at Lailah once more. “What did he tell you then exactly?”  
  
“I’m sure you of all people know how he feels about you,” Lailah answered. Noticing the look on Mikleo’s face, she decided to continue: “I suppose it’s not exactly a secret that the bond you two share isn’t just that of very close friends of that of brothers, but something else entirely. Realizing what you felt for each other must have been rather awkward at first, or that’s what Sorey at least told me. I can still remember the way he rambled when he was talking to me about it, almost like he was confessing his feelings for someone for the first time,” Lailah said with a faint smile shining on her face.  
  
“It can’t have been more awkward than the real thing though,” Mikleo smirked in response. Leaning back a bit up against back of a bench, Mikleo let out a weary, be it an oddly satisfied sigh. “For both of us.”  
  
“Oh…?” Lailah asked as she clapped her hands together after finally pulling her hand away from Mikleo’s shoulder. “I do so love stories of confessions of love. You simply must share.”  
  
Closing his eyes, Mikleo leaned forward a bit, his posture not exactly matching now his usual straight pose. “It wasn’t exactly one that you might read in one of those romantic novels you borrowed from Alisha,” Mikleo said, his smirk almost matching that of Edna’s whenever she got under someone’s skin.  
  
“I was simply curious to see what human literature was like,” Lailah huffed, but now that her cheeks seemed to also match the red parts of her dress, it was quite clear he had hit a bit of a nerve. “B-Besides, this isn’t about me, this is about you.”  
  
“Yeah, you’re right,” Mikleo admitted before continuing: “But it’s pretty much like I said. Books do seem to always make it very romantic and perfect, but in reality it’s a lot of fumbling around, coughing and whatnot.”  
  
“Oh, you don’t need to tell me that,” Lailah chuckled softly under her breath. Putting her hands on her lap, she continued to idly kick the air. “I have done that many times over my life and been the recipient of such things even more so. I do quite enjoy it though whenever you realize you’re worthy of someone’s love or affection.”  
  
“Oh? Sometimes I forget that you’ve seen so much when you don’t… exactly look like Gramps…”  
  
“I take that as a praise,” Lailah giggled faintly, putting one of her hands on her mouth in a rather ladylike fashion. “But yes, I have indeed been on both sides of the bridge myself many times. And I can even sympathize with the fact that you have feelings for someone so close and that of same sex, although for us Seraphim it has never been an issue like it used to be for humans ages ago.”  
  
“Oh…?” Mikleo inquired. Now all of a sudden he was the one compelled by the power of gossip. _So this is how it feels like..._

 

“Well, let’s just say that when it came to our little group, it might not only have been you and Sorey who found themselves swapping kisses behind the inn when you thought that nobody was looking…” Lailah said with a faint whistle, her smile pretty much radiating now.  
  
“Someone so close, does that mean…?” Mikleo motioned like he had an umbrella on his shoulder and swirling it. Lailah didn’t say anything, but her smile did more speak up on her behalf. “Sheesh, out of all the possible options you had to go with **her** …” Mikleo grunted.

  
“Now now, Mikleo,” Lailah chuckled softly, patting Mikleo on his back. “Edna is a very fine lady. And much like you, she’s quite sassy and smart to boot, so I can sympathize with Sorey in that regard,” Lailah hummed happily.  
  
“Ugh, don’t compare me to her, please…” Mikleo mumbled.  
  
“But please, do continue.” Lailah instructed, gesturing Mikleo to speak up his mind.  
  
“Well, again I’m not so sure what’s there to say. It was… one of those mutual realization that sorta just made everything… click? Like, okay, that explains a lot, you know?”  
  
Lailah hummed approvingly and nodded. “Yes, I completely understand. It must have been rather difficult for both of you when you didn’t exactly know how the other person felt, so you didn’t know where your boundaries were, right?”  
  
“You can say that again,” Mikleo smirked in response. “At times I thought that staying up reading a book together only to fall asleep in the same bed and waking up right next to each other was completely normal, but given that we did that even when we were what humans would call teenagers or even young adults and didn’t stop acting that way… well, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that our bond was…”  
  
“A bit unusual given the implications?” Lailah interrupted as she noticed that Mikleo seemed to struggle finding ways to describe their situation.  
  
“That’s certainly one way to put it.”  
  
Nodding again, Lailah grabbed a hold of Mikleo’s hands, her warm fingers holding his more cold hands in between her own. “It is quite clear to me that you miss him greatly, but if there’s anyone in this world that trusts Sorey, it’s you. It’s important that you stay strong for his but even more so for your own sake, but what I feel that is even more important is that you don’t keep it all bottled in. You’re water seraph and I don’t have to tell you what will happen if there’s too much pressure. You might not think so, you might think you’re above it, but in the end, you’re still very much a person, Mikleo. I know you don’t like to talk about your feelings with others than Sorey, but it’s also important to look for other outlets. Even if you might feel that you’re alone, you should remember that you’re most certainly not.”  
  
Mikleo stared at Lailah for a moment before letting out a faint chuckle in response. No matter how much he had tried to hide it all, clearly she saw right through him with ease. “Fine… I’ll promise to do better in future and come and talk to you, even if Edna is there as well.”  
  
“She has been worried about you too, you know? Of course she’d never say it out loud, but deep down she wishes you all the best. And you never heard this from me, okay? I wouldn’t heard the end of this if she knew I was spilling her secrets like this,” Lailah hummed softly.  
  
“Not to worry, your secrets are safe with me,” Mikleo smirked in response. “And thank you. I think that this is what Sorey would also wish for me to do. Just… opening up to people hasn’t exactly been my strong suit in life.”  
  
“It doesn’t have to be,” Lailah replied. “It just has to be part of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for Spellweavr ( https://spellweavr.tumblr.com/ ) for their Tales of Secret Santa 2018 gift ( https://talesofsecretsanta2018.tumblr.com/ ). I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> You can also find me at Twitter at https://twitter.com/lordofspiritsan  
> If you have ideas, suggestions, feedback, comment, anything like that, feel free to contact me.


End file.
